Apple Australia is once again attempting to sell Macs within major retail chains with the opening of five Apple ” stores within a store ” within David Jones and Harvey Norman shops in time for Christmas. Some Apple dealers aren’t happy about this but believe their “specialist knowledge” will give them the upper hand when competing with the mass market retailer, according to an Australian IT article.
Adam Steinhardt, managing director at Apple reseller Next Byte, told Australian IT that David Jones is another competitor and that the move is “frustrating.” The interest-free financing and credit card options that David Jones offers would give the retailer an advantage over the rest of the Apple channel. Still, “our stock management is going to kill theirs,” he said, adding that the Apple reseller channel is better at identifying trends and which particular products to push.
Steve Bardel, the proprietor of Melbourne-based Apple reseller My Mac Australia, told Australian IT that Apple’s decision to appoint David Jones will have a negative effect on his business. Other resellers agreed, but also seem to agree with Adam Connor, proprietor at North Sydney-based Apple reseller Total Recall Solutions. He told Australian IT that “Australian consumers should know that if they want specialist advice, they should go to a specialist [reseller].”